


In This Life

by fembuck



Series: The Nun's Nest [9]
Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Canon Lesbian Character, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25863568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fembuck/pseuds/fembuck
Summary: It’s time for the Sister Warriors to begin Phase 1 of Plan C; things do not go exactly according to plan.
Relationships: Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva, Sister Lilith/Shotgun Mary (Warrior Nun)
Series: The Nun's Nest [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1824703
Comments: 24
Kudos: 360





	In This Life

***

Ava merged into the shadows against one of the outer walls of ArqTech, pressing her back against it as her head turned from side to side, checking that the coast was actually clear before she lifted her hand and pressed her fingers against the comm in her ear.

“Bea?” 

“I’m here,” Beatrice murmured, voice calm, sure, and reassuring as her eyes focused on the glowing dot on her tablet which showed Ava's position within ArqTech. “I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Beatrice continued reassuringly, trying very hard to pretend she could not see looking over at her like she was the cutest thing the Sister had ever seen.

Ava’s heart warmed and her nerves calmed at the sound of Beatrice’s voice.

“Okay,” Ava said, rolling her shoulders in preparation. “I’m phasing into the wall now.”

Over the next few minutes, Beatrice carefully helped Ava navigate her way through the walls of the building to the security room, and then quieted, allowing Ava to concentrate on knocking out the guards stationed within. The headset Beatrice had been using to communicate with Ava was then briefly passed to Camila who served as an encouraging voice for Ava as she made her way through the series of sequences Camila had taught her to disable ArqTech’s security systems.

Within 15 minutes of Ava entering the building, the Sisters were all inside of the building in the operations room that housed the arc gate.

“Alright,” Mary said, looking at the women around her. “You all know what you need to do. Beatrice, Camila, figure out how we can hook Ava up to that thing. Ava … gaze at Beatrice and top up your charge…”

“Hey now,” Ava peevishly, giving Mary a look.

“What? It can’t hurt, and it’ll keep you out of trouble,” Mary replied, shrugging lightly.

In response, Ava simply nodded her head a few times. _Fair enough_ , she supposed.

“Lilith,” Mary said, turning her attention towards the woman in question. “You’re with me.”

Beatrice’s head snapped around to face Mary so quickly that Ava couldn’t help wincing because it looked like it had to be painful.

“Where are you going?”

“To have a chat with Salvius,” Mary replied, meeting and holding Beatrice’s eyes. “We need to know if she’s the one who sent those mercenaries after us.”

“And Lilith?” Beatrice questioned.

“I’m the bad cop,” Lilith replied. “Should one be necessary,” she added a moment later when Mary turned and glared at her.

“But we’re looking for answers, not trouble,” Mary said to Beatrice a moment later.

“And if she did hire them, then what?”

“Then we bring her back here,” Mary said calmly, holding Beatrice’s gaze, “and we figure it out together.” 

Beatrice’s body remained tense for a moment after Mary spoke, but then she nodded at Mary and her shoulders fell as her posture relaxed.

“See what you can do with that,” Mary said, gesturing to the machine. “Not needing to ask Salivius to operate that thing would improve our … negotiating position, should it become necessary.”

Mary looked over at Lilith after that, and the two of them headed out of the room as Beatrice turned back to Ava and Camila.

“There’s no way you didn’t sneak a look at this while we were staying here,” Beatrice began, focusing on Camila. “What do you think?”

“Like eating pomegranate,” Camila stated, moving over to one of the operating consoles.

Beatrice looked over at Ava, and Ava looked over at her, and then they both looked back over at Camila utterly confused.

Camila smiled. “It’ll be a bit messy, but it’s doable, with a bit of patience,” she explained.

Beatrice smiled at her and shook her head before reaching out to squeeze Camila’s shoulder. “How can I help?”

“How can we help,” Ava corrected gently, taking a step closer to Camila.

“Well,” Camila said thoughtfully, “Let’s start with …” she continued as Beatrice and Ava crowded in, listening to Camila explain their plan of attack.

***

When Mary and Lilith returned half an hour later, Camila had determined that she understood the controls as well as she was likely too, and Beatrice was running a few final scans on Ava, checking to make sure that the halos power levels were still suped up.

“No zip ties,” Ava observed as Jillian walked in behind Mary and Lilith brought up the rear. “That’s a good sign, right?”

“She checks out, for now,” Mary replied, as Jillian began to walk over towards Beatrice and then leaned into her to see the screen of the tablet before Beatrice simply handed it to her.

“H...How?” Jillian asked, stunned, after staring at the screen for a minute.

“Doesn’t matter,” Mary replied, taking the tablet out of Jillian’s hands and passing it back over to Beatrice.

Jillian was quiet for a moment as she stared at Mary, and then she sighed softly before murmuring, “Right. May I?” she asked, gesturing over to the main console where Camila was standing.

“By all means,” Mary replied with a practiced smile. 

Once Jillian’s back was to her, Mary looked over at Beatrice and angled her head towards Jillian. Beatrice nodded her understanding and then turned and followed Jillian over to the console area to keep an eye on her while Camila and Ava were focused on listening to her explain the controls.

*** 

“Her levels are fluctuating,” Jillian warned, her heart dropping as Ava’s output dipped and spiked, her mind and body lacking the calm needed for the energy to transfer smoothly.

“Uh,” Camila said, drawing the room's attention over to her. “Have we ever diagnosed Ava’s levels when Beatrice wasn’t in the room with her?”

The silence that followed made it very clear that they had not.

“We can’t open the door,” Jillian warned them.

“The light won’t hurt me,” Beatrice told her, having now been enveloped in it enough to recognize and miss the feel of it flowing around her, embracing her as lovingly as Ava did.

“I have no idea what the light will or will not do,” Jillian began, “but I know that we cannot open that door without damaging the machine we’re now trying to make work.”

“Then what…” Mary began.

Beatrice closed her eyes and whispered, ‘You make known to me the path of life’.

“...the hell are we supposed to…” Mary continued as Beatrice’s eyes opened.

“I have an idea,” Beatrice interjected, blushing in the mercifully low light of the room. “But I require … privacy,” she added as all of the eyes in the room focused on her.

“What could you possibly…” Jillian began confusedly.

“Do your thing, Bea,” Mary interrupted, waving her hand towards an empty part of the room.

Beatrice nodded crisply, and then walked towards an isolated corner of the room, turning on her comms as she walked.

***

“Hey.”

Ava’s eyes closed contently as Beatrice’s voice washed over her.

“Hey,” Ava breathed, smiling. “It’s nice to hear your voice,” Ava continued, already feeling her body and mind beginning to calm as she focused on Beatrice. “But I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s because I’m fucking up.”

“You’re not fucking up,” Beatrice reassured her. “All you need to do is breathe, and listen to my voice. Your heart and the halo will do the rest,” Beatrice continued, her voice soft and sure. “Breathe and listen.”

“Breathe and listen,” Ava repeated. She liked this plan. “Got it.” Breathing and fixating on Beatrice were the two of the things that came most naturally to her. She had this!

“Good,” Beatrice whispered, and Ava could practically see the affectionate smile that always accompanied that tone. 

“Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you,” Beatrice began softly, slowly reciting Ruth’s vow to Naomi to Ava as she had on the first night they came to know each other, mind, body, and soul.

“Where you go, I will go,” Beatrice continued, her voice like warm silk sliding over Ava’s skin, as her chest rose and fell more slowly as she focused on breathing and listening. “Where you lodge, I will lodge,” Beatrice continued, only allowing a small part of her brain to focus on the movement she had detected out of the corner of her eye before the pressure of the air in the room shifted. 

“Your people shall be my people,” Beatrice whispered, closing her eyes as she allowed her head to rest lightly on the wall beside her, imagining Ava on the other side of it, imagining herself holding her as she had the first time she had spoken these words to Ava. “Where you live, I will live,” Beatrice breathed out, adjusting the text of the vow slightly, not wanting to speak of death or dying.

Beatrice’s brain began to focus on the noise that had been tickling the edges of her consciousness. 

Even with her eyes closed, Beatrice became aware of the light in the room intensifying and brightening the moment the portal opened, and instinctively her eyes opened. For a moment she was blinded, going from nothing but darkness to nothing but light in a fraction of a second causing her to recoil, and squint, as spots danced in her eyes.

Blurrily, she could make out dark figures moving as a commotion erupted in the main art of the room.

“There and always will I hold you in my arms,” Beatrice continued, voice soft with devotion and awe as her eyes blinked open, finally able to witness the cosmic majesty of the portal for the first time. 

“My the lord do thus and so to us, and more as well, since even death will not part me from you,” Beatrice whispered, finishing her modified vow as she gazed at the rippling transdimensional gate Ava and their love had made possible.

“I love you,” Beatrice sighed, her voice warm and raw with emotion. “Keeping thinking of me, and how much I love you. You’re doing it, Ava. The portal’s open. Keep me in your heart and hold that feeling for as long as you can.” 

Beatrice stood quickly, her hand lifting to turn off her comm as she did, and then she was moving quickly towards where her Sisters and Salvius were gathered.

“You have to let me go!” Jillian was yelling as she struggled in Mary’s arms, trying to break the hold Mary had on her. “I have to find him!”

“You don’t know what will happen if you go through there,” Camila said gently. “We need to run tests, send a rover through-”

“My son already went through. I am not waiting for a fucking rover,” Jillian declared, turning her wrathful gaze on Camila. “He is out there, alone. I’m his mother. You have to let me go. You ...”

“I’ll go,” Lilith interjected, drawing the room's attention over to her.

“The fuck you will,” Mary objected immediately.

“I’ve already been, and I made it back on my own,” Lilith said calmly.

“You don’t know that for sure,” Mary stated, as Jillian began to settle down, no longer struggling to break free.

Lilith shrugged. “She’s right,” Lilith said, focusing on Jillian. “He’s out there alone. Someone has to look for him, and I’m clearly the superior choice.”

“He’s my son,” Jillian said, looking over at Lilith. “I’ll do it. I’ll go. You do not need to sacrifice yourself again.”

“Do you have claws?” Lilith asked dramatically as other worldly energy allowed hers to grow long and sharp. “If you go, we’ll just have two people rescue,” Lilith stated. “I’m going. End of discussion.” 

Lilith’s attention turned to Beatrice. 

“Whatever you were doing before, keep doing it, help Ava keep the portal open for as long as possible.”

“And if it closes?” Mary asked.

“Then it closes,” Lilith said. “Michael and I will find another way, or I’ll keep him safe until Ava is charged enough to open the portal again.”

Mary’s lips parted to object again, but Lilith turned from her and began to walk towards the arc gate. Then, just before she reached the portal, she stopped walking and turned to look behind her.

“In this life,” Lilith stated, meeting and holding Mary’s eyes, deliberately leaving out the end of the precept because she was coming back. Of that, she had no doubt.

“In this life,” Mary returned, holding Lilith’s gaze intently.

Lilith smiled at her, and then her back straightened and turned to face the portal again. 

She took five steps forward ... and then, she was gone. 

***

The 48 hours that followed Lilith walking through the portal were, rough, to say the least. 

Powering the portal the way she had, had left Ava truly drained and throughout the day that had followed, Ava had barely been conscious for more than a few minutes at time. All of the reading they had taken indicated that Ava was healthy, she just needed rest.

By the second day, Ava was up and moving around, eating and drinking again normally, operating at her usual level, but the halo did not hold enough charge for Ava to try powering it again. And truthfully, while Ava seemed to be back to normal, it was not a good idea to tax her body like that again right away.

“The more information I have, the more I can help,” Jillian said, momentarily interrupting the vigil Mary and Camila seemed to be holding as they sat in the hallway, a few doors down from the guest quarters they had dragged Ava to the day before.

“What are you talking about?” Mary asked, tilting her head up to face Jillian.

“By what means is Sister Beatrice attempting to help the halo reach the supercharged state it had before? Perhaps I could offer some advice on …” Jillian paused as Camila started to giggle.

“I’m sorry,” Camila breathed out, still trying to get her laughter under control, even as she apologized. “It’s just … based on, uh … precedent. Their … method has never failed to produce results. Super results really. It just takes a little time,” Camila explained as vaguely and delicately as she could.

“I appreciate that Sister Beatrice is exceptionally resourceful, and Ava, very determined. But time is of the essence and an extra set of hands …”

“They’re praying,” Mary cut in, knowing that Camila and Jillian could go back and forth with vagaries for far longer than she was willing to deal with. “So, unless your prayer game is stronger than a nun’s, I suggest you focus on making sure the arc is in working order for when Ava’s ready.”

“Prayer,” Jillian began, incredulous, “You can’t possibly expect me to believe that…”

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Dr. Salvius, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” Camila interjected gently. “You cannot identify the field of energy that Ava is drawing from to generate the extra energy, correct?”

“Correct,” Jillian agreed. Indeed she could not, but that didn’t mean...

“But you acknowledge that there is a source that Ava is drawing from, yes?” Camila probed.

“Yes,” Jillian replied again.

“That is all that matters,” Camila told her serenely. “Their … prayers have never failed us before. We must, therefore, be patient and allow Beatrice and Ava to continue with their most sacred devotions,” Camila continued, biting down on her lip lightly a moment later to stop herself from smiling when Mary’s body tensed, trying to hold in laughter.

“Why aren’t the two of you praying with them?” Jillian asked foxily, and Camila’s eyes widened before she turned to look at Mary.

“We just finished our shift,” Mary said calmly, as Camila gazed at her with wonder. “We’re just catching our breath.”

“It can take a lot out of you,” Camila added, helping to sell the story. “Praying can be very intense, physically as well as spiritually. I could teach you a few…” Camila continued as Jillian unconsciously stepped back, as if she could physically distance herself from the very idea.

“Thank you, but no,” she said politely. “You’ll let me know if there’s any news?”

“You betcha,” Mary replied, smiling.

Jillian’s gaze was still suspicious, and she gave one last long look down the hall towards the guest quarters, but eventually she simply sighed, nodded her head once at Mary, and then headed away in the direction of her office.

The moment she was out of sight, Mary turned towards Camila, Camila turned towards Mary, their eyes met, and then the two of them devolved into a fit of silent laughter.

***

Twelve hours later, while the sister warriors and Jillian Salvius slept, there was an explosion of light in the operations room.

A moment later, Lilith staggered through the portal, followed closely by Michael.

_In this fucking life_ , she thought victoriously, an exhausted smile turning up her lips.

And then, she collapsed to the floor, hair that was now as pale as snow fanning out around her fallen form like a halo. 

***

The equipment monitoring Lilith beeped steadily in the background of the medical room as Beatrice scanned the contents of the tablet she held in her hands.

“Her vitals _are_ good,” Beatrice said, confirming the report Jillian had delivered after they had gotten Lilith situated in the room. “She’s just exhausted. Like Ava was,” Beatrice continued, resting her hand on Mary’s shoulder as Mary gazed down at Lilith with concern. “She just needs to sleep.”

“I know,” Mary said, shaking her head at herself.

She did know, honestly she did, but knowing didn’t affect her feelings, and she knew that she wouldn’t really feel like everything was fine until Lilith woke up and started being a moody pain in the ass again. 

Beatrice considered Mary thoughtfully, and eventually Mary turned to look at her. 

“Don’t do that. I don’t like that look,” Mary said, knowing in her gut that the keen look in Beatrice’s eyes meant trouble. 

Beatrice rolled her eyes at her. “I was just wondering…”

“Don’t,” Mary interjected. “There’s plenty of other things you can occupy your Big Brain with that aren’t me.”

“And yet,” Beatrice waxed philosophically, “you are what my Big Brain has fixated on.”

“Why?” Mary muttered, accepting her fate.

Beatrice was tenacious when she set her mind to something. It was one of the many things Mary had come to appreciate about the young acolyte when Beatrice had first joined the OCS.

“You’ve been spending a lot of quality time with Lilith lately,” Beatrice began.

“We’ve been in hiding together,” Mary pointed out, rolling her eyes at Beatrice.

“True,” Beatrice acknowledged, “it just seems to me, thinking back on our poolside chat, that...”

Mary lifted her hand, and Beatrice stopped talking, giving Mary a moment as she looked back down at Lilith sleeping peacefully. Marythen looked up, making eye contact with Beatrice again before angling her head towards the medbay door.

Beatrice nodded, and then walked towards the door, Mary following close behind her.

“What does our poolside chat have to do with Lilith?” Mary began as Beatrice turned left and began to walk, clearly having decided on a location for them to talk.

“I think you know the answer to that question,” Beatrice replied.

“I think I know I’m not in the mood for any vague-ass shit,” Mary returned, turning to look at Beatrice pointedly. “Why don’t you get to what you’re getting at.”

“It just seems to me, that the two of you have grown particularly close to each other while we’ve been on the run,” Beatrice began, “And from my observations, I would guess that you’re growing close in a similar way to myself and Ava. You were … a great help to me when I was struggling, and now that you are, I…”

“Stop,” Mary muttered, lifting her hand to her head to rub at her temples. “Please,” she added plaintively, almost begging. 

She knew what she felt. She wasn’t ashamed of it, or in denial of it. It was just too soon for her to contemplate, let alone discuss, those feelings and what they were leading to down the road. 

She just wasn’t ready to let go of Shannon yet. 

She needed more time. 

She was still mourning. 

“My intention isn’t to harass you,” Beatrice said gently as she looked over at Mary.

“And yet,” Mary drawled.

They walked in silence for a few moments as Beatrice considered Mary’s words.

“As you wish,” Beatrice finally murmured, before turning to face Mary. “But I’m here … should you ever desire to talk.”

“Noted,” Mary said, lifting her hand to Beatrice’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “Where are we going?” she asked a moment later.

“Kitchen,” Beatrice said, laughing lightly. “Camila baked. If we want any, we have to get them before Ava wakes up.”

  
The End

Series continued in Part 10!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, it seems that we're nearing the end of this adventure. I've got at least one more part in the works, and if my brain will cooperate, hopefully there'll be an epilogue as well.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this latest addition to the series. Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> And, as always, comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated!


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